15 Minutes of Fame
by KateToast
Summary: The thing about the 15-minutes-of-fame deal is just that: it only lasts for 15 minutes. Or, in James’ case, four months.


A/N: Post-_Chasing Zoey_. James reflective that jives with the episode.

XXX

Dating Zoey Brooks had been like getting the infamous 15 minutes of fame everyone secretly (or not-so-secretly) wishes for.

James hadn't had to work too hard to get his 15 minutes of fame. A simple rumor started by Logan Reese had done the trick; by the end of the week, James Garrett, the hot new kid, was dating Zoey Brooks, the pretty, popular, outgoing girl. Neither seemed to have a problem making the rumors true.

He'd get high-fives and slaps on the back as he'd pass other guys, all telling him he'd "scored big", all telling him how jealous they were that he was with Zoey. At first he liked the attention; he liked that he was with a girl that made everyone else jealous, because it showed just how special she was. Girls flocked to him as well; apparently any guy of Zoey's was a guy every girl wanted. They flirted with him during class, they "accidentally" bumped into him by the coffee cart, they went to his lacrosse practices and sat on the sidelines cheering.

James Garrett was living the high life. It was almost like a dream: he'd come to an awesome boarding school, almost immediately gotten one of the greatest girls ever as his girlfriend, and found a cool group of friends. By the end of his first month he was without a doubt one of the most popular guys at Pacific Coast Academy.

He basked in the glory of it all. Nothing could beat this. Life could not get better.

Then he began hearing about Chase Matthews.

It started with his roommates. James had seen the pictures of Chase around the dorm room, and knew it was this bushy-haired fellow he'd taken the spot of. He'd gotten the brief biography of Chase Matthews from the guy's best friend Michael Barrett. James had garnered from that chat that Chase had not only been Michael's best friend, but Zoey's best guy friend as well.

Which was a surprise to James, since Zoey had never mentioned Chase's name to him before.

After a couple of weeks James became curious. People had started telling him things about Chase and Zoey's relationship before the former had left for England (which, by the by, was an odd situation in itself). Things like, _they spent all their time together_ and _he could make her laugh like no one else_ and _she came back to PCA for him_ and _he went to London for her_ and _I think they're in love with each other… we all think so_.

Which was a problem for James, since he was currently in a seemingly loving and blissful relationship with one of the two people from those rumors. Here's a hint: it wasn't Chase.

He mentioned Chase once or twice, casually dropped his name. James honestly believed that, even if Zoey _had _had feelings for Chase, she loved him, James, now. But he didn't like the way she evaded her absent friend's name, the way she immediately changed the subject, the way she'd become spacey and distant for a few minutes before becoming herself again.

James noticed these things, but for some reason didn't care. He couldn't help it; he loved Zoey. And he thought - he hoped - that she loved him too. Besides, he was the hot new kid dating Zoey Brooks, right? He was riding the wave of the fame; he was doing a tap dance in the limelight. They were on the lips of almost all the students at PCA:

("_Zoey and James are so cute!_" "_They're both so good-looking, how could they _not_ get together?_" "_Aw, did you see him kiss her on the cheek? He's so good to her_." "_I saw them at Sushi Rox the other night; they're both so nice_!" "_I wonder when they'll get married_." "_They'll probably go to college together, how adorable is that?_")

Everyone was jealous; everyone thought they were the perfect couple.

He did too, until she couldn't say _I love you_ back and they'd broken up. That had put a bit of a damper on their relationship.

The thing about the 15-minutes-of-fame deal is just that: it only lasts for 15 minutes. Or, in James' case, four months.

By the morning after prom, James was no longer the most-talked-about boy anymore, and he never would be again at PCA. His place in the spotlight had been switched off just a few hours after he and Zoey had broken up; all anyone had said about that was: _How sad_ or _That's too bad_ or _I wonder if she still loves Chase_ or _I bet she still loves Chase_. Nobody remembered the still-kind-of-new-kid; he was yesterday's news, and a day hadn't even passed yet.

But when James got up early that morning, his roommates in their beds sleeping off their wild night before, and he'd seen a strange bushy-haired guy in a sleeping bag on the floor, he had an idea what sort of rumors he'd be hearing that day.

("_Oh my God, Chase Matthews is back!_" "_Did you see Chase at prom?_" "_I saw him dancing with Zoey Brooks; didn't she and that James guy just break up?_" "_I think Zoey and Chase are together now._" "_I saw them kissing at prom_." "_I saw them making out at the after-party!_" "_They were inseparable the entire night_." "_Geez, it took them long enough_." "_He's been in love with her since she got here._" "_I think she's liked him for a really long time_." "_I wonder if she was cheating on James with Chase, long-distance!_" "_I'm so glad Zoey and Chase are finally together!_" "_Oh, oh, shh! There's James. I wonder if he knows?_" "_Poor guy was probably just Chase's fill-in until he came back._")

James sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets. He kept on walking past the whispers.

He'd gotten his 15 minutes of fame. It was someone else's turn now.

XXX


End file.
